Maseru – The constitutional watchdog, Section 2, has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s administration, accusing it of systematically tearing apart Lesotho’s supreme law and dragging the country towards authoritarian rule.
In a strongly worded statement issued today, Section 2 said recent events had “effectively placed the Constitution of Lesotho in abeyance,” pointing to what it called a pattern of executive arrogance, judicial contempt, and disregard for accountability.
At the centre of the outrage is the suspension of Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Hlalefang Motinyane. The High Court ruled the move unconstitutional, yet Motinyane was locked out of her office despite the judgment. Section 2 described this as “a deliberate act of executive lawlessness that mocks the authority of the judiciary and erodes public trust.”
The group also accused Parliament and the King of flouting the Constitution by attempting to amend it without following prescribed procedures. Even worse, the Prime Minister stood before the United Nations General Assembly and claimed the amendment was successful. “This was not only dishonest, it was reckless,” Section 2 said.
Concerns were also raised about statements by senior police officials. Commissioner Borotho Matsoso reportedly said police would not allow Basotho to exercise rights to assembly and expression without clearance from the Prime Minister’s office. Section 2 dismissed this as “a constitutional abomination” and “the language of dictatorship, not democracy.” The watchdog recalled how former acting commissioner Mahlape Morai attempted to ban famo music and bar the media from interviewing certain artists, describing it as grotesque censorship.
On governance, Section 2 blasted the administration for ignoring constitutional obligations on accountability. The Auditor-General has not produced a report since March 2022, yet Parliament continues to appropriate billions of maloti blindly. Newsday recently reported that government admitted to spending M3.4 billion without parliamentary approval, a practice the group described as “theft-by-appropriation.”
The statement further condemned the distribution of diplomatic posts to relatives and allies of ministers, calling it institutionalised nepotism. Such actions, Section 2 argued, trample on Section 20 of the Constitution which guarantees equal access to public service.
In one of its sharpest lines, the group likened the ongoing manipulation of the Constitution to a “Brazilian Butt Lift performed by actors who skipped the instruction manual entirely,” saying sections had been “lifted, tucked, and stretched until the Constitution barely resembles the sober document it once was.”
Section 2 reminded the nation of the 1970 suspension of the Constitution which plunged Lesotho into instability. It warned that history could repeat itself if the current government continues down this path.
“The government must cease its brazen defiance of judicial authority, halt its illegal manipulation of the Constitution, and put an end to nepotistic abuse of public service appointments,” the group declared.
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